The 4th of July is a time to enjoy the summer sun (assuming it comes out), celebrate your freedom (or, at the very least, celebrate your freedom to debate our freedoms), and impress your friends with extraordinary barbecue-throwing skills.

You do have extraordinary barbecue-throwing skills...right?

Well, don't worry. If you've been entrusted with the task of putting together this year’s Independence Day extravaganza, but haven’t got the slightest clue about where to start, we’ve got your back. The Epicurious team has spent years finding the best tricks and hacks that take a barbecue from zero to ten, and we've corralled 11 of them here. Read on to learn how to chill beer in 30 seconds, master the triple-marinade-dip, and churn out coleslaw without a recipe. By the end of the night, the fireworks will be in honor of you.

Several years ago I spent a Sunday in the sunny Chicago backyard of chef Paul Kahan. Most of the people in the yard that day were there to relax; I was there to work. I'd been assigned to cover the barbecue for Bon Appetit, and my job was to suss out every grilling tip chef Kahan had.

And as I stood by Kahan’s side at the grill, I found one. Kahan was grilling country-style ribs, and I watched as he pulled the ribs from a bowl of spicy, gingery, sweet marinade. He proceeded to grill the ribs for a few minutes, and then, when they were halfway done, dunked them in the bowl of marinade again.

“You succumb your ribs to the marinade twice?” I asked. (Note: I definitely did not use the word “succumb.”)

“No,” Kahan said. “I do it thrice.”

That was my introduction to Paul Kahan’s Triple-Dip Method, which, even these handful of years later, still feels like a new technique, even though it also seems obvious. The premise is that by exposing it to a triple-dip of marinade, the meat takes on triple the flavor. "It’s the best way for meat to soak up a ton of flavor, particularly cuts that are excessively fatty by nature," Kahan told me recently.

The Triple-Dip can apply to any recipe (though I wouldn't try it with fish). Here’s how it works:

Make the marinade as the recipe states. The marinade Kahan used that day had brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and chili paste; you can use any marinade you like, but make sure it has some sugar in it. The Triple-Dip "really works best with a marinade that has a good amount of sugar, so you can build up the caramelization," Kahan says.

Pour 1/3 of the marinade into a separate bowl and store it, covered, in the refrigerator. You won't use this bit of marinade until the very end of the grilling process.

Marinate your meat in the remaining 2/3 of the marinade. (The country ribs marinate for at least six hours, and up to overnight.)

When the time comes to grill your meat, transfer the meat from the marinade to a platter. (Some of the marinade can—and should—be clinging to the meat!) Pour the marinade into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes. Set marinade aside.

Have the just-boiled marinade nearby when you start to grill. Grill your meat as instructed, but halfway through the grilling, use tongs to pick up each piece of meat and dip it into the bowl of the just-boiled marinade. That’s the second dip.

When the meat is just about finished, dip the meat into the marinade one final time, this time using the reserved (untainted) bowl of marinade. That's the third dip.

Slap your meat on the grill one last time. "Just 30 seconds or so per side is perfect for sealing in the flavor," Kahan says.

(Is that fussy? A little bit. But the reserving of some of the marinade, and the boiling of the rest of it, is for your safety—you don't want to dip your meat into bacteria-laden marinade!)

Close readers of the recipe may notice something that contradicts with the method I lay out above: in the recipe, there are only two dips, not three. That was an editorial choice, but I've long since forgotten why that choice was made. I can tell you this, though: it was not the right choice. A double-dip is nice, but the Triple Dip is revolutionary.

Now—finally—it's hot. Too hot. Too hot to cook on your stove, and too hot not to be outside in the sun. Which means it's the time to cook as many dinners as you can outside on the grill.

And for that, you need a cast iron skillet. Because with a skillet, your grill can act as a stove, and even an oven—which means you won't have to turn on your actual stover and oven until the fall. Here's how it works:

1. All the Fish, None of the Odor

The main complaint I hear about cooking fish is that people don't like the way it makes their house smell. The solution to that: cook your fish outside. Any stovetop fish recipe should work in a cast iron skillet on your grill. (I'm partial to this swordfish number, personally.)

2. A Flat Sear with Smoky Flavor

Sometimes grill marks just aren't what a girl wants. So for those times when you want a full-surface, plancha-like sear on your fish, steak, or chop, fire up the grill and put a skillet on it. If you're cooking with charcoal, put the cover on the grill for a few minutes—the air inside the grill will circulate around your food and give it a smoky depth.

3. Cook a Side on the Side

So you're grilling some skirt steak for tacos and you really want some refried beans to go on the side? Make them in your cast iron skillet right next to that steak. Same goes for any stovetop side—and, for that matter, vice versa: you can cook a main, like these brothy clams, in a skillet, and cook the side (grilled corn!) on the, um, side.

5. "Grill" Delicate Little Things

Sometimes not even a grill basket (or a mesh rack) feels like enough protection for the delicate baby vegetables you want to throw on the grill. In those instances, "grill" the vegetables in a skillet. If you're using charcoal you'll still get a nice smoky flavor on them. And even if you're not, you'll enjoy skipping the fuss and the stress of guarding tiny sugar snap peas from falling to the flames.

6. Bake Something!

When you lower a lid on your grill, it basically become an oven. And that means pie. And cornbread. And cobblers. Anything you can bake in an oven, you can bake in a grill—but grills have a more intense heat from the bottom than most ovens have, so leave the delicate things (like sponge cake) for the fall.

Skewers have a bit of a bad rep in some crowds. Chalk it up to too many memories of overcooked meat, underdone vegetables, and weird salad-dressing marinades.

But whether you call them kebabs or call them skewers, they deserve a spot on your grill this summer. Because when they're done right, nothing's easier to prep, faster to grill, or more delicious to eat. For those of you who (like me!) don't have a grill in your backyard, they're easy to marinate, assemble, and transport to whatever park or campsite you're traveling to for a cookout. In fact, they're better when they're marinated and assembled in advance. And once you throw them on the hot grill, they cook up in under 15 minutes. What's not to love?

You'll love skewers even more when you make them right. Here's a few tricks I've learned to ensure the best, most evenly cooked, most flavorful grilled skewers:

Rule #1: Keep Each Ingredient Separate

The easiest way you can instantly improve your skewer game is to forget everything you learned about alternating cubes of meat and vegetables on skewers. Sure, those colorful kebabs look pretty, but the ingredients invariably cook at different speeds, which means at least one component will end up over- or under-cooked. So make things easier: Separate the meat onto its own skewers, and each variety of vegetable onto its own skewers, too. This way you can ensure that each ingredient is cooked to the exact right doneness—no more over-cooking chicken because you're waiting for onions to soften. Yes, you'll lose the cute multi-colored kebab presentation, but serving kebabs on their sticks isn't the best way to eat them anyway.

Rule #2: Steer Clear of Super-Lean Meat

More fat equals more flavor. It also means the meat will be more tender, and you'll be less likely to end up with a dry, stringy texture if you accidentally cook it for too long. Opt for boneless skinless chicken thighs, boneless beef short ribs, lamb shoulder, and pork shoulder. You won't regret it.

Rule #3: Embrace the Longer Marinade

An overnight marinade is always a good idea for kebabs, especially when you're working with tougher, fattier cuts of meat and chicken. And why wouldn't you want to get them all ready to go the night before and save time the day of? This rule does not apply to fish or shellfish: the texture will get all rubbery and funny if you try to marinate it for longer than a few minuates. Instead, just brush your fish or shellfish kebabs with your sauce or seasoning and toss it right on the grill.

Rule #4: Marinate The Vegetables Just Like The Meat

Your kebab meat shouldn't get all the marinade love. Before grilling them on skewers, treat your vegetables just like meat and give them a nice soak in a flavorful marinade. This is especially great for more "spongey" vegetables like eggplant or mushrooms that will really soak up that sauce in a real way.

Rule #5: Serve Skewers OFF the Skewers

Since you're skewering and grilling each ingredient separately, you've already let go of the idea of serving your kebabs on the skewers, right? Good. I love pull all the meat and vegetables off the skewers and toss them together onto a serving platter and give them a hit of brightness with a handful of fresh herbs and a squeeze of fresh citrus. Add some (warm grilled!) bread on the side and a refreshing cool sauce (even a dollop of plain yogurt), and you've got yourself a beautiful dinner.

There are few things as refreshing as a cold beer on a hot summer day. Okay, maybe two cold beers. But sometimes the unthinkable happens: someone drank all of your chilled beer (it was probably you) and the only ones left are warm. If you know how to chill beer, situations like this are no cause for panic.

We've got five tried-and-true ways to bring down the temperature of your bottle or can and make it quaffable ASAP. Here are five kitchen hacks for cooling beer quickly, including a trick that takes less than 30 seconds.

1. Submerge the beer in ice water and salt.

Submerge the beer bottle or can in a bucket or large pot filled with ice water and salt. The salt lowers the freezing temperature of the mixture of ice and water, causing the ice to melt, which lowers the water's temperature and chills the beer faster.

Chilling time: About 15 minutes.

2. Wrap your beer in a damp cloth.

Wrap the beer bottle or can in a damp cloth or paper towel, then place it in the freezer. As the water on the cloth or towel evaporates, it draws heat away from the beer, cooling it faster.

Chilling time: About 15 minutes.

3. Use a SpinChill.

Attach a SpinChill ($30) beer chilling device to the top of your beer bottle or can. Submerge the beer in a bucket or large pot filled with ice water and salt. Activate the device and it will rotate the beer in the ice water without creating additional carbonation. According to SpinChill, "spinning adds convection which drastically increases heat transfer between the hot liquid and cold ice."

Chilling time: Under 5 minutes.

4. Drill your beer.

If you're handy with tools and want to know how to chill beer, this is the solution for you. Drill a hole in the top of a thermos cap. Securely fasten a long screw into the hole using two bolts. Attach the screw to a power drill. Submerge a beer can in a pitcher filled with ice water and salt. Place the thermos cap over the beer and activate the drill. The beer will rotate quickly and its spinning motion increases the rate of heat transfer and causes the beer to cool more quickly.

Chilling time: About 5 minutes.

5. Chill your beer with compressed air.

Hold a bottle of compressed air upside down and spray the side of a beer bottle or can for a few seconds until frost forms. Holding the can upside down is key because it makes the air that comes out extra cold.

It wouldn't be a backyard BBQ (or the 4th of July!) without a bowl of slaw on the table, right? But the quality of that slaw can vary so very much, from a soggy sad heap of storebought mush, to a shockingly refreshing, satisfyingly crunchy, flavor-packed homemade creation. Obviously we'll all always prefer the latter version, and so I want to show you all how easy it is to make coleslaw on your own without a recipe. And the best part is, you can make it with whatever you like and flavor it to taste however you like! And no, it doesn't have to have mayonnaise in it (but it certainly can).

Ready to jump in? Here's how to make coleslaw any way you want it:

1. Slice up Some Cabbage

You can make a slaw with almost any finely sliced or shredded raw vegetable, but today we're talking about how to make coleslaw, and that's always made with cabbage. Cabbage gets a bad rep sometimes, but it's far from boring! You've got at least four common types to choose from: green, red, Napa, and Savoy. Green cabbage is the most common, what you think of as "cabbage" flavor, with thick crunchy leaves. The red is a little bit more peppery, but similar. Napa is milder and slightly sweeter, with thinner more delicate leaves, and the Savoy is also milder and sweeter, but with thicker-textured leaves. Savoy is actually my personal favorite for making slaw with, because I love how all the nooks and crannies in the leaves hold onto dressing, while still being thick enough to stay nice and crunchy even after sitting for a day.

Whatever type of cabbage you want to use, you have to slice it up before you turn it into coleslaw. Cut the head in half, lay that half on its cut side, then start thinly slicing across it with a sharp knife, starting with the end that's furthest from the core. Keep on slicing until you get near the core, then just cut around it.

Or for more of a grated texture, cut the cabbage into quarters and push it down the feed tube of your food processor fitted with the shredding blade. I would not recommend trying to grate cabbage with a box grater—it'll get dangerous and messy really fast.

2. And Other Veggies if You Want

Just because we're making coleslaw doesn't mean you can't slice or grate up some other vegetables along with that cabbage. Or herbs. Or fruit—some grated apples in coleslaw can be great. Carrots are a classic addition, and I've recently been really into thinly slicing sugar snap peas to add to my coleslaw. But really the sky's the limit: if you can slice it, and it tastes good raw, you can add it to coleslaw. How about some fennel or some kale, bell pepper, or radishes?

And then you should also consider fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, mint, or tarragon; thinly sliced jalapeños or serrano chile peppers to add some extra heat, and anything in the allium (aka onion) family—chives or scallions are perfect for adding a fresh zesty bite.

2. Mix up 1/4 cup of dressing for every 4 cups of sliced vegetables.

Once you have all your cabbage and additional vegetables or herbs sliced up, measure how much you've made. (For each person you're serving, you want at least 1 1/2 cups of slaw mixture.) Once you know how many cups of raw slaw mixture you have, you know how much dressing you need to make to perfectly dress it: calculate for 1/4 cup of dressing for every 4 cups of slaw mixture. If you're making an extra-thick creamy dressing with a mayo or sour cream base, you might want to add a bit more.

To make the dressing, you want to start with an acid: either citrus juice or vinegar or a combination of the two, then whisk in some oil or something creamy (mayo, sour cream, or even yogurt), along with whatever else you want your slaw to taste like—mustard, hot sauce, spices, etc, and plenty of salt. It's just like making vinaigrette, except you want a bit less oil here than you'd want for a salad dressing, and you always want to add a little bit of something sweet to balance out the natural bitterness of cabbage. A few ideas:

I love a simple, tart-and-creamy classic slaw, with a mixture of Dijon mustard, lots of lemon juice, a bit of mayo, a pinch of sugar, and some celery salt

For a sort of Mexican-inspired slaw, try a mixture of lime juice and apple cider vinegar with a little bit of neutral vegetable oil, brown sugar, ground cumin, and salt

Or go for an Asian-style slaw with a mixture of rice wine vinegar, Sriracha, and a bit of toasted sesame oil for an Asian-inspired taste.

Be sure to taste your dressing before you add it your cabbage though. It should be nicely balanced and bright: if it's too tart, add more sweetener. If it's too salty, add more acid and more oil or your creamy ingredient of choice. If it's too bland, add more salt. Keep tinkering until it tastes good—If you make more dressing than the amount you need, you can simply save it for next time!

3. Toss it up, and serve

Add your dressing invention to your sliced cabbage and friends and toss it all up so everything is evenly coated. If you want to add some extra crunch, sprinkle in some nuts or seeds or coconut chips or what have you. And that's it! Now you know how to make any kind of coleslaw, and your triumphant creation is ready to serve. Most coleslaws keep well in the fridge for at least a day and sometimes more: you'll want to keep tender green herbs out of the mixture if you plan on storing it for more than a day though—they'll turn brown from the acidic dressing—but you can always add them just before serving.

Call it the Curse of Those Without Outdoor Space: The less access to a grill one has, the greater the desire to grill. I'm living proof. I have no space in which to fit a grill, so all I want to do is grill my dinners, my lunches, even my breakfasts.

But I will admit that I don't envy those who grill their side dishes. Because how do you grill something small like asparagus, green beans, snap peas—even shrimp—without losing each piece one-by-one through the grates?

Well, you could invest in a grill basket, but they can be bulky, tricky to store, and there's no denying they're a dreaded single-use tool. Or you could do what our crew in the Epi Test Kitchen does: grab a rack.

That’s what senior food editor Anna Stockwell did when she cooked the sugar snap peas for her newest steak dinner. To make sure the peas didn't fall into the fire, she placed a plain, old stainless steel cooling racks—the same kind that moonlights as an oven rack—over the grill grates. Naturally, the snap peas were grilled safely on top.

Anna likes to flip the wire rack upside down when grilling, so she can grab onto the rack's feet—which are pointing up—with tongs to "slide it easily around, moving it from a hot spot to a cooler one" or to make room for more steaks or chops.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but you want to avoid grilling with wire racks that have either a non-stick or rubberized coating, since these aren't heat safe. Stick to stainless steel or chrome-plated steel-core racks, which you can simply place on the grill before heating it up. If you plan to do a lot of grilling this summer, you may want to invest in a rack to use specifically for this purpose—otherwise you'll be cooling snickerdoodles on the same rack that just grilled some scallops. If you do buy a new rack, use the old, bang-up rack for the grilling, and save the new one for your baked goods.

But you can still use that banged-up rack for cooling—just use it for cooling steaks. Anna notes that when she pulls a steak off the grill, that same cooling rack, set inside a rimmed sheet pan, "is the perfect place to let the steak rest before slicing in." This same set up will also keep your vegetables crisp, which is an important thing—you took the step of saving them from a fiery death. Why ruin them now?

Ever wanted to grill a bunch of asparagus but were worried the skinny stalks would end up in the coals instead of on your plate? Or thought about tackling a side of salmon but were too scared to lose half the fish during the big flip?

You Can Grill Whole Fish

If fear of sticking has been holding you back from grilling whole fish, fragile fillets, or glazed chicken wings, it's time to let it go. When placed in a hinged grill basket, food doesn't actually make contact with the grill, but instead stays firmly yet gently nestled between the basket's two protective sides as it gets flipped. (Tip: To prevent grilled food from clinging to the basket, be sure to oil it or coat it with nonstick cooking spray before cooking.)

You Can Cook Side Dishes on the Grill

Forget running back and forth from your kitchen to your grill; grill baskets allow you to cook both mains and sides in the great outdoors. (And no one wants to roast potatoes or steam green beans in a hot kitchen in the summertime anyway.) Both hinged baskets and grill woks excel at cooking vegetables, especially small or thin items that can easily fall between the grates of a grill, like scallions, mushrooms, broccoli florets, and sliced onions. Regardless of the type of basket you use, group items with similar cook times together (or add them in the appropriate succession if using a grill wok) and cut them about the same size so they cook at the same rate. It's okay to overfill the basket a little when cooking vegetables—the steam released can help them cook through. Bonus: a hinged basket with a long handle is perfect for cooking over a campfire, no grill required!

You Can Lose the Skewers

Threading food on skewers can take a lot of time and some items are difficult to pierce. Next time you're in the mood for grilled shrimp or prawns, just toss them in a spicy, buttery sauce and cook them in a hinged basket or grill wok. A basket makes turning a breeze, while a wok lets you keep the food moving, much like sautéing in a skillet on a stovetop. Arranging seafood or meat in a single layer will help it cook quickly and evenly.

You Can Turn Out Lots of Food at Once

If you're cooking lots of burgers or chops for a crew, use a hinged grill basket to flip them all at the same time. Just make sure your items are about the same thickness to ensure that every piece is cooked to perfection.

This article is about how to make a margarita on the rocks. If you would like to learn how to make a frozen margarita, we've got you covered.

A classic margarita has just a few simple ingredients: tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice. With so few components, and no sugary, faux-fruit sweeteners, it's best to start with high-quality booze and real honest-to-goodness limes. (Not that I'm saying those bottled citrus squeezers don't have a place in your kitchen—they definitely do—but a great-tasting cocktail is not one of them.)

As for the alcohol, I like this tequila, which was featured on our holiday gift guide, but any blanco or reposado tequila will work. Choose blanco (aka silver) if you like a crisp-tasting margarita—it's the least aged tequila, has a clear appearance, and generally has a vegetal taste and aroma. If you like a margarita with a little more complexity, go for reposado, which has been aged in oak from 2 months to 1 year and has a smoother taste and golden color. You may also see joven tequila, a blend of blanco and reposado, which is also a great margarita base, as well as añejo (aged at least one year) and extra-añejo (aged at least three years). Those last two are considered sipping tequilas, and not something you would typically use for a mixed drink (but, hey, if you're feeling fancy, you do you).

Finally, there's the mezcal margarita. Mezcal is essentially tequila (although it can be made from a different strain of the agave plant) that's undergone a smoking process during production and makes for a margarita that pairs exceptionally well with a grilled Mexican feast. (Oh, and one more thing: maybe you don't like tequila at all? If that's the case, the exact same recipe and method works with rum, although that would technically make it a daiquiri.)

How to Make a Classic Margarita

1. Prep Your Garnish

The classic garnish for a margarita is a salt rim. To achieve this for a crowd, fill a saucer with lime juice, water, or a mix of the two. Fill a second saucer with kosher salt or coarse sea salt. If you'd like, you can add lime zest, chili powder, or other seasonings to the salt. If you're adding spices, mix no more than one part spice to three parts salt.

2. Rim Your Glasses

I prefer a rocks glass for a classic margarita, but use a margarita glass if you must. If you're prepping several margaritas, turn your glass upside-down, place it in the saucer of lime juice at an angle, and turn the cup so that just the outside lip of the glass is wetted by the lime and water mixture. Immediately place the rim of the glass flat into the saucer of salt, then lift, turn the glass right-side-up, set aside, and repeat with remaining glasses. It's important to moisten just the outside of the glass so that you don't get salt inside the glass, which can throw off the flavors of the drink.

Just making one or two drinks? Run a halved juicy lime just around the outside rim of your glasses and then dip into the saucer of salt.

3. Measure Your Ingredients Into a Cocktail Shaker

4. Add Ice and Shake

Fill the cocktail shaker the rest of the way with ice—and please make sure those ice cubes are fresh! Affix the top of your cocktail shaker and shake until the outside of the shaker is frosty—it should just feel like the shaker is getting to a point where it will be too cold for you to handle.

5. Fill Glasses With Ice

Taking care not to mar the salt rim, fill cocktail glasses to the top with more fresh ice cubes.

6. Strain Cocktail

Divide the margaritas evenly among your glasses. For an extra flourish, you can float a cross-section of lime (aka a lime wheel) on top of the drink—or even pop in a paper umbrella. But honestly, when you're drinking margaritas this good, paper umbrellas will probably just get in the way.